Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said in a statement that the sanctions accorded with a United Nations Security Council resolution on preventing and suppressing terrorist acts. Breaching the sanctions carries a potential maximum 10 years in prison.

The United States imposed similar sanctions on the group in October last year. The U.S. State Department said the group was sympathetic to al-Qaida but was not a formal affiliate.

Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis was founded in 2011 and has attacked the Israeli city of Eilat and a Sinai pipeline. The group has also tried to assassinate Egyptian officials and claimed attacks on military and tourist targets.